Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing method and apparatus and, more particularly, to an inter-frame prediction method and an apparatus using the method.
Related Art
A demand for images having high resolution and high quality, such as a High Definition (HD) image and an Ultra High Definition (UHD) image, is recently increasing in a variety of application fields. As the resolution and quality of image data become higher, the amount of the image data becomes relatively greater than that of the existing image data. For this reason, if the image data is transmitted using media, such as the existing wired/wireless broadband lines, or the image data is stored by using the existing storage medium, a transmission cost and a storage cost are increased. Image compression techniques with high efficiency can be used to solve the problems occurring as the resolution and quality of image data becomes higher.
Image compression techniques include a variety of techniques, such as an inter-frame prediction technique for predicting a pixel value included in a current picture from a picture anterior or posterior to the current picture, an intra-frame prediction technique for predicting a pixel value included in a current picture by using information on a pixel within the current picture, and an entropy coding technique for allocating a short symbol to a value having high frequency of appearance and allocating a long symbol to a value having low frequency of appearance. Image data can be effectively compressed, transmitted, or stored by using the image compression techniques.